Bourses trade near neutral lines with negative bias

Key benchmark indices trimmed most of their losses in late afternoon session, but continued to trade below the neutral lines. The broader indices, the BSE Mid cap index and Small cap index were also trading weak. Traders took note that Prime Minister Narendra Modi stressed the need to make India's banks and currency an important part of the international trade and supply chain. He also exhorted financial institutions to continuously encourage good financial and corporate governance practices. Inaugurating the iconic week celebrations by the ministries of Finance and Corporate Affairs as part of the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, Modi said India has developed various financial inclusion platforms and there is a need to create awareness about them for their optimum utilisation. Sector wise, tea industry remained in focused, as Indian Tea Exporters' Association Chairman Anshuman Kanoria has said that the Indian tea industry has a realistic chance to achieve the $1 billion exports target in the next two-three years.

On the global front, Asian markets were trading mostly in green and European markets were trading higher as investors reacted to reports of possible U.S. tariff cut on China's goods, loosening of Covid-19 restrictions in Beijing and improved Caixin Services PMI data for May from China.

The BSE Sensex is currently trading at 55685.13, down by 84.10 points or 0.15% after trading in a range of 55295.74 and 55832.28. There were 10 stocks advancing against 20 stocks declining on the index.

The broader indices were trading in red; the BSE Mid cap index declined 0.10%, while Small cap index was down by 0.42%.

The top gaining sectoral indices on the BSE were Metal up by 0.89%, Bankex up by 0.39%, TECK up by 0.34%, FMCG up by 0.17% and Basic Materials was up by 0.17%, while Consumer Discretionary down by 0.64%, Consumer Durables down by 0.62%, Realty down by 0.49%, Capital Goods down by 0.35%, Telecom down by 0.29% were the top losing indices on BSE.

The top gainers on the Sensex were Tata Steel up by 1.23%, Infosys up by 0.88%, Kotak Mahindra Bank up by 0.85%, ITC up by 0.82% and ICICI Bank up by 0.81%. On the flip side, Asian Paints down by 1.65%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.38%, Ultratech Cement down by 1.24%, Nestle down by 0.69% and Power Grid down by 0.66% were the top losers.

Meanwhile, expressing need to seek the Centre's help for rationalisation of international MRL laws for the crop, Indian Tea Exporters' Association Chairman Anshuman Kanoria has said that the Indian tea industry has a realistic chance to achieve the $1 billion exports target in the next two-three years.

Kanoria also said it is also essential that the beverage produced for the overseas market is compliant with the safety regulations of importing countries. He said that this is essential to uphold the quality image of Indian tea in international markets and make the country’s tea the preferred one worldwide.

MRLs are defined as the maximum concentration of pesticide residue likely to occur in food after the use of pesticides according to good agricultural practice. MRLs are primarily trading standards, but they also help ensure that residue levels do not pose unacceptable risks for consumers.

The CNX Nifty is currently trading at 16583.10, down by 1.20 points or 0.01% after trading in a range of 16444.55 and 16610.95. There were 24 stocks advancing against 26 stocks declining on the index.

The top gainers on Nifty were JSW Steel up by 3.35%, Bajaj Auto up by 3.10%, ONGC up by 1.65%, Tata Consumer up by 1.64% and Cipla up by 1.43%. On the flip side, Shree Cement down by 3.04%, BPCL down by 2.44%, Asian Paints down by 1.68%, Bajaj Finserv down by 1.51% and Ultratech Cement down by 1.45% were the top losers.

Asian markets were trading mostly in green, Hang Seng increased 539.34 points or 2.56% to 21,621.47, Nikkei 225 surged 154.32 points or 0.56% to 27,915.89, Taiwan Weighted strengthened 53.39 points or 0.32% to 16,605.96, Shanghai Composite gained 40.91 points or 1.28% to 3,236.37 and KOSPI was up by 11.66 points or 0.44% to 2,670.65. On the flip side, Straits Times trembled 5.41 points or 0.17% to 3,226.56 and Jakarta Composite was down by 86.38 points or 1.2% to 7,096.58.

European markets were trading higher, UK’s FTSE 100 increased 96.44 points or 1.28% to 7,629.39, France’s CAC increased 72.75 points or 1.12% to 6,558.05 and Germany’s DAX was up by 130.18 points or 0.9% to 14,590.27.